Are you a snob at restaurants? No? Just me? Alright, cool!
I haven’t always been a restaurant snob, only when it comes to a few of my personal pet peeves with food, the first of which is dryness. I despise dishes that do not come with enough sauce. In fact, in some of my recipes to come, I purposely double the amount of sauce to avoid this travesty.
My second food pet peeve is dry, tough meat. Ever since I was a little girl, I haven’t ever really liked to eat meat. Most times I find myself eating meat only to incorporate more protein into my diet. Truthfully, I could live without it. The main reason is it’s rarely tender or moist. I’ve been to far too many Mexican restaurants and ordered something with chicken only to be disappointed by huge chunks of dry, flavorless meat. Hence, my dedication over the past few years to perfecting this enchilada recipe!
I linked a couple spices below that make this dish go from a 9.5 to a 10! If you’re like me and live over an hour away from a Trader Joe’s, then Amazon is the way to go. This post includes affiliate links for which I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you, should you make a purchase. Please know that I post links only to products I know and love and actually use in my own kitchen!
As for the recipe below, what I love about these enchiladas is that they are extremely versatile. The enchilada’s filling is completely up to you! Serving picky eaters? Sub out an ingredient for something else. Leftovers in the fridge and freezer? Throw them in too! Wanting to keep it simple? Fill the tortillas with only meat and cheese. The recipe below follows my personal preference, but you can truly mix and match whatever ingredients you have on hand that sound good.
Ready to ditch the dried-out Mexican food for our family’s favorite creamy version? Average Chefs, let’s get cooking!
Creamy Enchiladas
Serves about 6: One 9x13” pan or two 9x9” square pans: I usually make two 9x9” pans and freeze one for later!
Estimated time, start to serve*: 50 minutes
*Assuming meat is already cooked. Short on time? Grabbing a rotisserie chicken and shredding it works like a charm. Have a few more hours to spare? Cover your chicken breasts in chicken broth and cook on low in a crockpot for 3-4 hours. Shred with two forks or in a stand mixer.
Ingredients:
8 tortillas of your choice: I personally love the white Mission Carb Balance tortillas
2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded: You are also free to use a pound or so of ground beef, turkey, chorizo, or steak; vegetarian enchiladas are amazing too! Just opt for more of the fillers below
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed: Excellent substitutes include corn, sautéed bell peppers, or onions!
1 can of Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles, drained
4 wedges of Laughing Cow Cheese, any flavor
1 Tbsp. honey
Juice of 1 whole lime
1 Tbsp. Trader Joe’s Chili Lime seasoning*
(1 packet of taco seasoning works just fine instead of these two seasonings)
Two 10-oz. cans of red enchilada sauce
One 8-oz. block of cream cheese
Approx. 3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
Handful of fresh cilantro, optional
Favorite Mexican toppings: We used plain Greek yogurt (our sour cream substitute), salsa, and jalapeños; Avocados or guacamole would be amazing as well, we just didn’t have any on hand. (I also love lettuce on top, but having COVID ruined how lettuce tastes to me.)
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large skillet, place your meat, Rotel, and filler beans/veggies. All of your enchilada fillers should, in total, cover the bottom of the skillet but not by much. It is super easy to make too much filling, and I’ve done it many times. Therefore, if you decide to use beans, corn, and bell peppers, for example, then you should take away some of the meat and Rotel to balance it out.
3. Turn the skillet’s burner to medium heat and add in the Laughing Cow cheese wedges, honey, lime juice, and seasonings. Stir occasionally until the cheese wedges have completely melted and made the filling uniformly creamy. Turn off the heat.
4. In a blender, blitz together the enchilada sauce and block of cream cheese until smooth.
5. Spray your one 9x13” pan or two 9x9” square pans with nonstick cooking spray.
6. Pour a thin layer of enchilada sauce into the bottom of the pan(s), just enough to cover the bottom.
7. Odd but important step: Using your kitchen utensil, section your enchilada filling into 8 even sections so that you can fill each tortilla evenly.
8. Onto each tortilla, place a large pinch (a Tbsp. or two) of shredded cheese, followed by enchilada filling. Roll up and place seam-down into the pan: 4 enchiladas in each pan or 8 in the 9x13” pan.
9. Pour remaining sauce on top of the enchiladas. If you’re choosing to freeze a batch, now is the time to cover it with foil, write baking directions on the top, and pour some shredded cheese into a Ziploc bag to store with the meal in the freezer.
10. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Add remaining shredded cheese on top and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.
11. Enjoy! I serve these enchiladas with a pouch of the 90-second microwavable Mexican/Spanish rice or the $1.00 Knorr Rice Side packets that take about 10 minutes to make.
Did you create a masterpiece? Take a photo of your Creamy Enchiladas and tag @the.brass.spoon on Instagram to show off your work. Bragging about your cooking skills is half the fun!
Want more? Don’t forget to subscribe to future recipes by entering your email address below. Share the link to this recipe with fellow Average Chefs. Reach out with questions or special requests for future weeks via the Contact Me page!
I’m going to try these this week - can’t wait!